Graphic Underestimating
by lostkittenmeow
Summary: Ulrich Stern has to survive countless XANA attacks, Yumi passing by in the halls...and a sister? If Ulrich didn't have a lot to deal with he certainly does when his younger sister arrives to stay for who knows how long. And what happens when William Dunbar finds out...? Well...let's just say that Ulrich isn't happy about this, either...
1. Chapter 1

_Tobi...Stern? I have a...sister...? Seven o'clock._ Ulrich Stern leaned over the bathroom sink, struggling to control his heavy breathing. The feeling of cold marble just brushing his fingertips only increased the intense feeling of pain that racked his body. It wasn't the loss of the end-season soccer game that was slowly tearing him apart inside, it was what his parents had told him only two minutes ago; minutes now seemed like endless hours as he glanced down at his watch. Ten minutes. Ulrich wanted to lay down on his bed and die, the thought of _his_ game room torn apart for some...girl.

"Come out of the bathroom hon, the bus will be here in three minutes!" He heard his mother yell happily from the kitchen. Ulrich after hearing this could only imagine what having a sister was like. Would she be anything close to nice? _I'm being selfish...she's not "some girl," she's family..._

"Coming, mum!" Ulrich yelled, taking one last glance in his mirror. "Not bad," He told himself before carefully closing the bathroom door. His mother had taken great care to see that the four-story house was clean, as hard as he tried Ulrich couldn't find a single speck of dirt anywhere he bothered to look. Despite this everything was the same - but would it stay this way?

ONLY A MINUTE LATER...

The sound Ulrich had never wanted to hear resounded throughout every room in the house as soon as Ulrich claimed his couch. It was so...soft...he sunk into the kneaded material without any time to enjoy it...a sudden draft made him grab a small white blanket from the nearest cushion and pull it over his head. Someone had opened the front door...a voice, an unfamiliar female voice, similar to that of his aunt but with more of a tipped English accent greeted his mother with an Italian phrase, the only one Ulrich had bothered to memorize. "Ciao, mum...it's been...so long...Vi voglio bene." _Italian? _After this display of affection Ulrich had to look...she was tall, almost as tall as him. Her long, well-kept violet hair swept down her back in waves. And she was pale, unnaturally pale, her eyes a deep, curious silver color...as for her clothes? Nothing he had ever...seen. The girl gave a small, silver-lipped smile, hesitating before stepping more into the room and giving him an even smaller hug. Ulrich blushed...

"So...y-you're my s...sister..." Of course she was, there was just no words to fit the space where happiness should have been, or was it covered instead with doubt?

"Yes...you...you're my brother?" Tobi looked up at Ulrich and once she did he couldn't find the right response, something that seemed..._what's the word?_

"Yeah, I'm your brother," Ulrich replied happily. There were the words, tumbling out naturally. "Ready for school, little sister?" Tobi might have been only a year younger, that simple fact didn't matter to him.

"I'm scared..."

"Why?" Tobi sighed. It was a long, drawn-out sigh, something Ulrich knew very well. "Wait - you don't think no one's gonna notice you?" He already knew what his sister's answer was before she could stammer it to the best of her abilities. "It's fine, Tobi. You'll be okay. I promise."

THE NEXT MORNING

"I'm not coming out!" Ulrich buried his head in his hands. "Tobi, you HAVE TO!" He held his breath for a second, struggling to stay calm. "Please?" He added thoughtfully. "I'm sure you look great, sis." From within Tobi's bedroom Ulrich heard his sister drag herself out of bed - _finally._

"Give me ten minutes, Ulrich!" Tobi yelled. She had slept in her clothes, but her brother didn't know that. Grey quarter-sleeved Hogwarts T-shirt, black leggings, button-up navy jacket and yes, black combat boots. Only two minutes...eight left without much to do except run a brush through her already-combed hair - in the three miutes it took to blindly grope for the doorknob Ulrich was waiting out in the hall, tapping his foot impatiently.

"You look great, like I said you would sis," He told her. Tobi only slipped past her brother.

"Don't wanna hear it," she replied bluntly.

"What's wrong?" Before Ulrich could stop his sister she had pulled her skateboard from underneath the soft light blue hallway carpet. "Don't go yet..."

"Don't tell me what to do!" The front door slammed shut, and Ulrich's happiness went right with the bitter morning draft. _She thinks I'm like dad - 'cause I yelled at her. _"Why can't I keep my mouth shut?!"

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Mother assured him. "Tobi isn't used to living here, Ulrich." Ulrich only sighed.

"I know Mum."

"Just go to school and talk to her there..."

-  
TREES, endless blacktop and nothing but a carbon copy of the disgusting Industrial scene flew past in a quick blur as Tobi landed another backflip, just too easy. Concentrating on launching into a double front flip, however, she didn't notice the stranger leaning against a tree - this, too went by in a blur. Would everything be like this...fast-paced?

"If only I hadn't gotten mad at Ulrich...he's just trying to help me...I guess I have to survive alone."


	2. Chapter 2

"_Gold, gold, bones, bones under platinum headstones..."_The bell rang once, twice, and a third time, most likely because whoever operated loved to see innocent students loitering about in the halls scramble for their classrooms like rats in a race for a gigantic piece of Swiss cheese. "_And all that worthless gold...gold, bones, bones under platinum headstones..." _Before Tobi could secure her chances of a quiet, peaceful classroom all possibilities slipped away with an announcement that made her want to disappear – she could if she wanted but it drained her energy levels. That and she couldn't risk Ulrich finding out. "Class, I would like to announce that we have a new student! Please, come up front Miss Stern." The minute Mrs. Heart let those very words slip, Tobi's faith slipped out of the room along with whatever papers someone had dropped.  
"Stern?" Someone said from the back of the room. It was a boy, blonde-haired and small in stature. He was dressed kind of odd and wore glasses. Tobi stood up, relieved for her hooded jacket. Walking to the teacher's desk made her feel like an experiment being paraded down a catwalk for all to see, and standing in front of the entire class was beyond torture.

"Class, I would like you all to meet Tobi Stern, who has traveled from Venice, Italy to attend school here..." Jeremy sat up straight in his chair, some odd feeling hitting him like a ton of cement blocks raining down from the ceiling. He gave a precautionary glance William Dunbar's way to calm the feeling and make sure that he wasn't doing anything ridiculously stupid to impress Ulrich's..._sister. _Reasons why Ulrich kept this secret as long as he did seemed almost too preposterous of a strand to be explored so Jeremy banked on the fact that Ulrich might've not known about it until last night. Diverting his attention from William to Odd Delarobia, Jeremy noticed a small folded piece of notebook paper sitting on his desk, it had appeared the minute the teacher introduced Ulrich's sister.

"Odd?" Odd acted like he didn't hear Jeremy whispering his name the first time but the second caused him to hastily shove the paper into his coat pocket. To this, Jeremy only rolled his eyes. "Odd!" He said again, and this time Odd turned around in his chair.  
"Did you hear Miss Heart, Jeremy? She's from Italy!" Odd said excitedly. "Now I have someone to do my homework for me."  
"Really, Odd..." Odd nodded in reply.

"She seems like a tech girl." Jeremy looked for Ulrich's sister but she had already sat down – the desk next to William. Her books were stacked evenly and supplies spread out although Jeremy noticed that she was listening to music, not paying attention to Mrs. Heart. Something Ulrich would do..._Like sister like brother,_ he thought.

**FIFTY MINUTES LATER...**

Jeremy dropped his lunch tray on the table, it landed with a dull clunking sound that reverberated as it landed next to Aelita's. "I think I know something about Tobi...and it's not good," he announced boldly. The minute Odd heard this he nearly spit his soda all over Yumi, who only threatened to smack his nose. Aelita, however, set aside her milk carton and looked at Jeremy calmly. She was worried but unlike the others she could hide it extremely well, often it was hard to tell what she was thinking or feeling.

"Tell us, Jeremy," she said quietly. Odd, after recovering from his nose being smacked, nodded on agreement, and stuffed a piece of cheese pizza into his mouth.

"Yea...don't keep us waiting, Einstein - spill it," he mumbled through a mouthful of pizza crust. Before Jeremy could stop himself he could've lost all trust with one single word -

"XANA." Nothing else needed to be said, all Jeremy actually needed was the horrific looks plastered on Odd, Yumi, and Aelita's faces. "I think that XANA is going to use Ulrich's sister against him somehow," he finished slowly.

"Where is Tobi...?"

_Something's getting in the way; something's just about to_ _break..._Tobi, right after class found herself sitting under a massive oak tree in the courtyard away from the other students. She had to find a place somehow even if it meant skipping lunch or looking for Ulrich. Why bother anyways, if he didn't want her around? Face the inevitable, something told her; it's not normal for a girl to have naturally purple hair or silver eyes...sighing, Tobi pulled her iPod from her jacket pocket, shifting through the songs until she hit "The Diary Of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin. Tapping the REPLAY icon, tapping the VOLUME icon she leaned back against the oak's rough bark and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. _If I had to..._the music enveloped all sense of people around her, not close but in the courtyard.

"Tobi! Hey!" Tobi opened her eyes and tapped the PAUSE icon. It was that boy, the one Mrs. Heart had been screaming at for the entire period. He was as tall as her, with messy blackish-blue hair and dark eyes the same hue and shade, the boy wore all black but it was more casual than Goth; his entire face was enveloped in a mischievous grin. "You looked kinda lost," Tobi said quietly, shrugging.

"Nah, I'm just bored." William couldn't help but laugh. "Mrs. Heart is a real pain, and it doesn't help that she teaches Algebra on top of Science."

"Wanna skip?" Tobi twisted a strand of her dark violet hair around her index finger. "I know somewhere really cool we go," William added, flashing a genuine smile.


End file.
